‘SIX’ Season 2, Episode 8 ‘Scorpions in a Bottle’ Recap: Falling Apart

The failed hostage operation in the last chapter of SIX results in the SEALs going home. While the higher ups deal with the politics of the situation, the SEALs spend time with their friends and loved ones. Some of them unknowingly walk into trouble. On the other hand, some embrace their true selves. While the team seems to fall apart, the SEALs push on with their daily lives, even if it means doing things unimaginable to them.

In this week’s episode of SIX, the seals return home after the unsuccessful hostage exchange operation. While Ricky “Buddha” Ortiz (Juan-Pablo Raba) and Joe “Bear” Graves clash, Agent Gina Cline (Olivia Munn) loses her job. Meanwhile, the rest of the SEALs play out their social lives. As Alex Caulder (Kyle Schmid) tries to get back to the team, Michael Nasry (Dominic Adams) earns back The Prince’s (Nikolai Nikolaeff) trust.

Leadership Issues

Upon arriving at the Virginia Beach base, the SEALs unpack their equipment and prepare to go home. As Bear enters the locker room, Agent Cline follows after him. She has a word with the SEALs, claiming responsibility for the failed operation. Most of the SEALs were silent as Agent Cline spoke, but Buddha bursts in anger. He dislikes the fact that Rip Taggart’s (Walton Goggins) murderer went loose. Bear tries to calm him down but to no avail.

History

Buddha strikes on Bear after their debriefing with Chief of Staff Scott Hughes (Erik Palladino). Because of this, Bear reprimands him about his actions, saying that he disliked Bear’s decisions made as the team leader. The loss of Rip forever tainted Their friendship, and it was further going downhill when Buddha learned that he did take Rip’s place as the team leader.

Perhaps Buddha’s frustration at not being the team leader affects his state of mind during the missions. Throughout the episodes, he either compared Bear to Rip reacted negatively towards Bear’s decisions. While we did learn that Rip told Buddha beforehand that he was not going to be the team leader, Buddha could blame him, but not when he was dead. Since then, Bear became Buddha’s soundboard for his frustrations, and Bear was not taking any of it.

Former Lives

Robert Chase III (Edwin Hodge) and Trevor Wozniak (Eric Ladin) spent their time at a bar somewhere in New York. While they were having a good time with Robert’s girlfriend, Sam Rivera (Sandy Sidhu), Anthony, one of Robert and Sam’s college friends, makes an entrance to their table. Anthony (Jacob Richter) kept yapping about how Robert changed from ‘Social Justice Warrior’ to ‘Cold-Blooded Murderer’ after graduating from Harvard. When Anthony left, Robert followed him to the comfort room to beat him. Trevor restrains him then they left the bar, with Sam staring in shock at a beaten Anthony.

Ever since Trevor came along with the team, Robert became more comfortable with himself. Trevor told him not to be ashamed of taking photos of their kills (although this was illegal) and he always tells crazy stories from his missions that entice Robert. From where I am standing, it looks like Robert is slowly coming out of the Harvard Graduate shell that he used to use to protect himself from ridicule.

Dark Side

Joe sat in a bar as he waited for Agent Cline to contact him. As he sat there, time went by without him noticing. Joe got tipsy had a few more drinks until a girl he once ditched named Carly (Emily Maddison) found him. When Carly mentions their previous encounter, Joe gets out of his comfort zone and takes her home. When Joe wakes up the next morning, he remembers a brief time with Rip, telling him to embrace his dark side.

Joe’s sudden character change from being the boy scout took me by surprise. Maybe he decided to stop worrying about a marriage that he did not know how to fix. I for one think that it is good for him to see other people. Joe’ stress levels during the missions get off-charts, so he deserves a break when he gets home. Besides, he barely had time before he gets deployed again.

The Team

After a morning run, Alex comes home. His daughter, Dharma Caulder (Lindsley Register) shows him a photo of a surfboard shop in California. She was trying to convince Alex to look for Dawn (Savannah Welch), a fellow soldier he met during his recovery period. Dharma shows Alex more photos of the place when he agrees to think about it.

The news of Michael’s release reaches Alex, so he goes to visit Bear at the base. After each of them expressed their frustrations over what happened, Bear tells him that he needs him back in the team. Because of this, Alex accomplishes a medical affidavit, declaring him to be fit for service. While this may look like good news, Alex needed to be careful. He would not survive another mission if his brain nerves gave up on him.

The Enemy Within

When Ricky arrives back, his wife Jackie Ortiz (Nadine Velasquez) happily greets him with hugs and kisses. However, Ricky completely disregarded this when he shows Jackie the gun in her glove compartment. Jackie apologizes to him, reasoning that she was paranoid once Ricky left for work. As Jackie tells Ricky that Alex gave her the gun, Ricky went, taking the gun with him.

History

The next day, Marissa (Katherine Evans) comes over to the Ortiz’s place. She is overwhelmed when she meets Ricky, so she excuses herself. At dinner, ‘Chloe’ said nothing while they ate. She reasons out that she was not feeling well. Because of this, Jackie tells Ricky to drive Chloe to her grandmother’s place. During the drive, Ricky tries to make small talk. The car runs out of gas, so they stop at a gas station. As Marissa aimed her gun at Ricky who was buying from a vending machine, Anabel Ortiz (Jessica Garza) calls her. Eventually, Ricky drops Marissa off at a suburb. When Ricky’s car was gone, Marissa walked back to her motel room.

This scene had me at the edge of my seat. The tension was pretty intense, especially during the dinner. Also, the moment Marissa pointed the trigger at him is the moment when time stopped. Thankfully, Anabel thought of calling. While Ricky causes Joe a lot of stress to deal with, I believe that the SEALs deserve more than another dead comrade. Honestly, I hope Ricky finds out who Marissa is and bring her to justice.

Inside Agent

History

The Prince’s men eventually capture Michael. The Prince did not make it easy for Michael to earn his trust back. He even had Michael locked-up with his hostage. To prove Michael’s loyalty, The Prince had him contact his sleeper agent, Marissa. At first, Marissa does not answer. When The Prince proceeds to slit Michael’s throat, Marissa calls him back, giving him a second chance. One of their superiors makes a surprise visit at the cabin, asking for the hostage. Michael takes advantage of the opportunity by killing the superior, Yuri Petrov (Adam Tsekhman)and his men, further backing up his credibility.

Early retirement

History

Because of the failed operation, Gina was forced to end her career early. While the government was busy trying to cover up their tracks, Gina was determined to finish her mission. She uses her contacts so she could reach Michael again. All this pays off when Michael sends a video of him and Andrew Hall (Ken Tremblett). It looks like the fight is not over yet.

SIX continues next Wednesday, July 25th, with “The Reckoning” at 10/9c on The History Channel.